Getting Answers to Our Prayers
Getting Answers to Our Prayers
It’s no secret that many of us have a little more time on our hands than usual and our TV and media consumption may have increased a little in the past week or two.
I’ve been watching a CBS show about a Catholic priest whose job it is to investigate reports of supernatural activity such as miracles or hauntings and determine whether the situation calls for a therapist or an exorcism. It’s a little dark and has some questionable theology at best, but it’s entertaining.
One episode has stuck with me, however, in which the Priest was counseling a boy who exhibited violent behavior and the Priest encouraged the boy to ask God for help in prayer.
“Does God answer prayer?” The boy asks.
“God answers prayer,” The Priest replies, “When we pray in faith and act on it.”
I liked that answer a lot because it captures the essence of what prayer does for us and how God works in the world.
Right now many of us are praying for healing in our world. But God’s response to our prayer goes hand-in-hand with our own willingness to be a healing presence in the world. If we wish to see God at work in the world, we must be willing to be the ones God uses to do that good work.
If we pray for God to bring an end to the Coronavirus pandemic, we must be willing to do our part in preventing its spreading.
If we pray for improved health, we must be willing to make healthy choices.
If we pray for financial provision, we must be looking for the opportunities and with a willingness to work.
This is the difference between faith and superstition. We do not believe in a cosmic butler who magically moves and performs at our simple request. Without our willingness, our prayers are merely ringing a bell for the Butler. (Who is God truly in that arrangement anyway?) No, we believe in and serve a God who changes hearts and minds and moves us to participate in God’s divine will for the world.
Now some problems and some heartache are above our pay grade. If God’s going to use someone to cure cancer, it’s not likely to be me. That doesn’t mean it’s not wrong to pray for a cure to cancer. But part of being willing means asking God for guidance about what I can to do help and opening myself up to be used in whatever way God shows: whether that means to visit the sick or encourage the healthcare provider or funding the research.
May you pray in faith today, with open eyes and a willing heart, looking for ways to be used in God’s answers to your prayers.
Kelsey Lewis Vincent is the Pastor for Youth and Families at First Baptist Decatur. You can follow her on Twitter where she posts about faith, succulents, and her adorable dog, Karl Bark.